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Why I've stepped away from Home Education groups

Home Education groups, whether they are on Facebook or Whatsapp, are great for those new, HE families just starting out on their HE journey. I do advise people to take advantage of Social Media and find their local groups in order to find out what's going on in their local area, how their LEA works and to meet up with others. It's a great start to get lots of information, ideas and just feel inspired, knowing other people are out there who have chosen alternative education.

However, I would first advise people to get to know, if you don't know! By this I mean get to know your child/children and find out their interests, work out how HE will best fit in with your normal, family life, decide which approach to take and a curriculum to follow if you would like one, because once you've joined a group you will have a plethora of information that you have to sift through in order to decide how best to educate your child/children within a framework of their needs and aspirations, rather than following a path based upon what others have achieved and the benchmark they have set.

Each and every family on HE groups have different lifestyles and situations so as most of us believe that one curriculum or approach does not fit every child sat in a school classroom, it's understandable to see that one families' HE journey won't necessarily mimic another.

When I first began Home Educating there were not many groups out there so I was pretty much alone. This had its benefits though as I had to do all the research myself and find the best curriculum which best fit my family. Setting out clear goals and incentives as to what we wanted our children to achieve but knew it was susceptible to change due to their interests.

Everyone's HE adventure is different and when groups started forming I did feel like I needed to join them, but after a while I personally felt overwhelmed and didn't feel the need to know how other families educate their children so I am no longer part of any groups but rather enjoy seeing everyone's lovely photos on Instagram.

People have often commented on Instagram that our HE journey looks amazing and I am so appreciative of all those lovely comments, but I would like to bring to light the fact that there are lots of flashy photos that people upload onto Social Media which often paint untrue pictures, but don't buy into these perceptions. We all have times when things do not go to plan, but that is one of the many benefits to HE, if things turn out differently then just go with it. You may have planned a topic, but the children may want to study something completely different. You may want them to learn numbers from a number line sat with a pen at the table but they may want to get the paints out and turn it into an Art lesson too! HE can often look like a steep hill to climb but trust me it's worth the hike and some of us are forsaking things just to educate their children at home.

Another thing I found on HE groups is that most families only attended activities for HE children and people were surprised that I chose to take my children to sports activities on an evening instead, which had a mixture of HE and schooled children. Again, this was just my choice and I wanted my children to socialise with as many different children as possible.

So that is why I have stepped away from groups online for now, and I am quite confident with the tailor-made, bespoke education I have chosen for my children and I love getting to know all my fellow HEdders on Instagram @theworldistheirclassroom

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When
and why did you decide to Home Educate? The
decision to Home-educate was not a simple one for us. In truth, I had never really
considered homeschooling as an option for my family. However, as my eldest son
got nearer to the school-starting age, and as I learnt more about who he was
and his own beautiful personality, I realised that traditional schooling would
not be the best option for him. So we decided to “take the plunge” and withdraw
his application for primary school and home-educate him. I know from the bottom
of my heart that this was the right decision for him. In fact, he thrived and
has done so well at home that we decided to homeschool his younger sibling too! What
kind of approach do you take? We
are trying to follow a Charlotte Mason approach, but as many of you readers will realise, learning new education philosophies takes time…time that most
home educators do not have! As such, I am trying to educate myself on Miss
Mason’s approach and implement what I learn as I go …

Over the next few weeks I will be publishing a series of guest blog posts written by people, from all walks of life, who were home educated. With my eldest, DD15, having started college this September, I thought it would be nice to hear what other young people, who were Home Educated, have gone on to do.

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When my mother found out about home education, my brother and I were in primary school and we weren’t very happy. It was September 2001 and I was 5-years-old, my brother 8-years old. I don’t remember how I felt when my mother took us out of school but I remember that my brother used to cry before going to school and would cry when the day was over. Of my school experience, at that age, I only remember being afraid of one of my teachers, M…

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When
and why did you decide to Home Educate? The
decision to Home-educate was not a simple one for us. In truth, I had never really
considered homeschooling as an option for my family. However, as my eldest son
got nearer to the school-starting age, and as I learnt more about who he was
and his own beautiful personality, I realised that traditional schooling would
not be the best option for him. So we decided to “take the plunge” and withdraw
his application for primary school and home-educate him. I know from the bottom
of my heart that this was the right decision for him. In fact, he thrived and
has done so well at home that we decided to homeschool his younger sibling too! What
kind of approach do you take? We
are trying to follow a Charlotte Mason approach, but as many of you readers will realise, learning new education philosophies takes time…time that most
home educators do not have! As such, I am trying to educate myself on Miss
Mason’s approach and implement what I learn as I go …

Over the next few weeks I will be publishing a series of guest blog posts written by people, from all walks of life, who were home educated. With my eldest, DD15, having started college this September, I thought it would be nice to hear what other young people, who were Home Educated, have gone on to do.

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Today I have a lovely post to share with you from Beth, who was Home Educated.

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